1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a refrigeration system, more particularly to a refrigeration system suitable for use in an automobile air-conditioner.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an automobile air-conditioner, the compressor is turned by receiving the driving force from the automobile engine, so the compressor is also placed in the same vibration system as the automobile engine. On the other hand, the other components constituting the automobile air-conditioner, for example, the condenser and evaporator, are affixed to the automobile body, are in a different vibration system from the compressor. Therefore, in an automobile air-conditioner, usually rubber hoses are arranged at the suction side of the compressor and at the discharge side of the compressor and these rubber hoses are used as the refrigerant lines.
When rubber hoses are used, however, it is impossible to avoid having the moisture in the air pass through the rubber hoses and enter the refrigeration system. The moisture which enters the refrigeration system causes frosting due to the cooling action accompanying the pressure reduction and expansion at the time of passing the expansion means of the refrigeration system. When the amount of moisture is high, this frosting may end up blocking the orifice of the expansion means.
Therefore, in conventional air-conditioners, a drier has been used to remove the moisture entering into the refrigeration system. Usually, the drier consists of silica gel or other desiccants accommodated in a permeable bag and is disposed in the receiver in the refrigeration system so as to absorb moisture from the refrigerant flowing into the receiver.
If such a drier is used, however, not only does the cost of the apparatus rise by the price of the drier itself, but also extra space becomes required for installing the drier in the receiver, which goes against the object of saving space.
Further, while the drier is effective for removing moisture from the refrigerant, it cannot remove unlimited amounts of moisture, so a drier which has absorbed more than a predetermined amount of moisture has to be replaced. This is extremely disadvantageous in terms of the maintenance of the refrigeration system.